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PROFILE: Midtown Lunch’er “Patrick”

Every Tuesday we turn over the site to a different Midtown Lunch’er for his or her recommendations for the best lunch in Midtown. This week it’s Patrick, a glutton who is dying to find a decent chicken fried steak in NYC.

Favorite Kind of Food: Don’t let the picture fool you, for I am a glutton. I am a non-stop binge eater, but if I had to choose a few absolute favorites, it would be Chicken Fried Steak, Tex Mex Fajitas, and Sushi. Unfortunately, two of the three (CFS and Tex Mex Fajitas) are nowhere to be found in New York! I’ve searched near and far, TriBeCa to Morningside Heights, for a decent chicken fried steak but have fallen short. I am convinced it doesn’t exist in New York – please prove me wrong! As a born and bred Texan, there is nothing that warms my soul better than a good chicken fried steak, which is neither chicken nor steak. The thought of the crispy golden brown breading wrapped around a tenderized steak, all smothered in white thick cream gravy speckled with flecks of pepper makes my mouth water and stomach rumble. Mmm, can you just taste the goodness?

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Anything that is considered healthy or vegetarian. Whoever said it was painful to eat healthy is absolutely right!

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown:GoGo Curry (on 38th btw. 7+8th) without a doubt! There is no way to beat this place! Talk about the perfect combination of quality and quantity at the right price! Unfortunately when I’m at GoGo Curry, I am slightly over the midtown lunch budget with a Grand Slam with an extra side of fried fish. After a lunch like this, the rest of the day is usually a total wash as I am mayor of Food Comaville. And yet somehow, by dinner time, I’m miraculously recovered and ready to start all over. I also love Meze Grill (8th Avenue between 55th and 56th) and its Rice Pilaf Bowl with Chicken, Batata Harra, pickled turnips (must have!), topped off with homemade Tzatziki Sauce and Spicy Hummus. Meze Grill also supports countless number of charities such as StreetWise Partners, American Cancer Society and more! Soon to be Shake Shack Midtown.

“Go-To” Lunch Place You and Your Coworkers Eat at Too Often? Few un-midtown lunch establishments include chain places such as Chipotle, Cosi, and Chop’t. I do not believe in salads being a full meal. The Joe’s Shanghai on 56th used to also be a staple but there are only so many soup dumplings you can eat!

Place(s) you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch? GOGO CURRY!!!! I am forever indebted to Midtown Lunch for introducing me to GoGo Curry. There is not a 5th, 15th or 25th of the month that you will not see me there! How can you beat free topping days! Actually, every single one of my favorite lunch places are thanks to Midtown Lunch. Without Midtown Lunch I would have not found my other favorite lunch spot, Meze Grill. Unfortunately Midtown Lunch disagrees with my opinion, but I think it’s DELICIOUS! Take a look at my take on Meze Grill. Also every other street meat vendor besides the 53rd and 6th guys. There are so many others out there that are just as or more delicious including Kwik Gourmet, XPL, and Shendy’s! Without midtown lunch I would have also never discovered Yakitori Totto’s lunch menu, Sapporo in Time Square, and Five Guys. Can’t forget about all the delicious food trucks including NYC Cravings and Schnitzel & Things. Last but definitely not least is Zach’s guide to beating the All You Can Eat. This isn’t a “place” but every time I dine at an all you can eat place, I enter with the mentality of beating the buffet – it is my bible. This is the most well-written and thorough guide for beating AYCE… for beginners and veterans!

If you could work anywhere (just because of the lunch) where would it be and why? Right here in our own backyard, Chinatown – can you beat the selection? It may lack variety (Asian food only) but there are still so many options to choose from: Cantonese, Chinese, Taiwanese, Vietnamese, Malaysian, etc. – and they’re all concentrated in one area. You also have Little Italy right around the corner if a little change is necessary.

Is there anything you’d like to ask the Midtown Lunch readers? Do any of our favorite midtown lunch restaurants support great causes and/or charities? Can anyone put me out of my misery and tell me if there is any place to get good chicken fried steak in the city?

Got a chicken fried steak rec for Patrick? Put it in the comments. And, as always, if you would like to be next week’s Profiled: Midtown Lunch’er (or know somebody you’d like to nominate), email editor@midtownlunch.com.

Hi Patrick, I tried a bite of my friend’s chicken fried steak at Roebling Tea Room in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on a Sunday brunch a while back and thought it was amazing and promised myself to order it the next time I was there. Lots of buttery goodness.

DEFINITELY! i wish! i thought about it! but is there a demand for chicken fried steak in Manhattan? I think the schnitzel truck guys should do a chicken fried steak day! as its kind of derived from the schnitzel!

midtown lunch any connections to see if the schnitzel guys would be interested in doing some chicken fried steak?

Thanks! been to all of those. unfortunately not exactly a great texas cfs :-/

but theyve done a decent job in trying to hold over the cravings!

I actually dont like cafeteria’s the breading falls off instantly and it also reminds me of fish fry breading.

Virgil’s is outrageously overpriced for that subpar cfs! I think the best one on the list is actually F.A.T.S Fat Annie’s truckstop, but its so close to gogo curry that i get distracted and end up there instead :-/ oops!

@mghu777
definitely swing by and check it out… i think it’s bottle. i’ve had some texas beer at RUB before but don’t remember the name. and no it’s not on the menu online but i’ve had it so go ask abt it.

It’s a little far north but have you looked into upstate NY for your Texan food? Dinosaur BBQ was originally from Syracuse, NY and upstate has some excellent burgers etc. I can’t give you specific locations for chicken fried steak though, sadly. I never had chicken fried steak while I was living up there.

actually the worst chicken fried steak i had was from the brindle room. Dont get me wrong, it was a good restaurant with other great dishes but the chicken fried steak was not good. I also had the chicken fried steak at Cowgirls, it was slightly tough. I think they use a different cut of meat like skirt steak or something.